 | | Part of the original lineup of the superstar group Destiny's Child, LeToya Luckett, who as a solo artist chose to go by her first name only, didn't just sit around after she and Latavia Roberson left the group shortly after the release of 1999's The Writing's on the Wall (neither singer was seen in the "Say My Name" video, which came as a surprise to both of them). |
 | | Offering a throwback sound to complement her rich, womanly voice, Melanie Fiona is a bright R&B artist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. |
 | | Fantasia Barrino may have won the third season of American Idol with "I Believe," but it was her passionate take on George Gershwin's "Summertime" that had everyone talking for weeks. |
 | | Contemporary R&B star Jazmine Sullivan spent several years learning the ropes of the recording industry before signing to J Records and making her solo recording debut in 2008 with the number one R&B single "Need U Bad. |
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 | | Though she sang in musicals and talent shows throughout her childhood, Charlotte, NC native Sunshine Anderson was discovered while she was waiting in line in a cafeteria at North Carolina Central University, the institution where she earned a B. |
 | | R&B vocalist Heather Headley was born in Trinidad in the mid-'70s. At an early age, this daughter of a pastor was surrounded by music and performance art. |
 | | Chanté Moore, the daughter of a minister, grew up on gospel music and albums by George Duke and Lee Ritenour, sometimes applying her lyrics to their music. |
 | | Adult contemporary R&B vocalist Vivian Green grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she started singing at an early age. |
 | | R&B singer Kelly Price spent her early years in the music business behind the scenes, lending backing vocals to records from stars including Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Faith Evans, and Brian McKnight. |
 | | A native of Toronto, Deborah Cox began singing for TV commercials at age 12, also entering various talent shows with her mother's help. |
 | | One of a handful of neo-classic soul artists to emerge following the late-'90s success of artists like D'Angelo and Lauryn Hill, Atlanta's India. |
 | | A native of Canada, contemporary R&B singer and songwriter Tamia got an early start in the music industry, singing on the Rod Temperton-penned "You Put a Move on My Heart," the first single from Quincy Jones' 1994 hit album Q's Jook Joint, when she was only a teenager. |
 | | In 2002 the successful duo of Missy Elliott and Timbaland presented Tweet, a soulful vocalist with hip-hop savvy and unrestrained sexuality. |
 | | Pop-oriented R&B singer Amerie, the daughter of a Korean mother and an African-American father who was a career military member, grew up on bases from Alaska to Germany. |
 | | One of the more genuine urban songstresses to emerge in the 2000s, Keyshia Cole worked her way up the industry ladder diligently yet quickly, making her major-label debut in 2004 at age 21. |
 | | In a very short span of time, R&B singer/songwriter Chrisette Michele shot from small-time performer up to one of Def Jam's most promising talents, purely based on her unique instrument -- a gorgeous and effortlessly versatile singing voice colored with Billie Holiday-esque inflections of vocal pop and jazz. |
 | | Shortly after the end of her gold-selling R&B act Floetry, singer, songwriter, and producer Marsha Ambrosius -- whose biggest claim to fame as a writer is Michael Jackson's Top 20 hit "Butterflies" -- signed with Dr. |
 | | Whether she was singing pop-friendly urban soul or acting in her own family-oriented sitcom, Brandy's winningly wholesome persona helped catapult her to stardom during her teenage years. |
 | | Ledisi Young (her given name meaning "to bring forth" in Nigerian) was born in the Big Easy, where she sang with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra when she was eight years old and spent many adolescent hours watching her mother perform with a local R&B band, often in a nearby park. |
 | | A singer, MC, self-taught keyboardist, and prolific songwriter, Angie Stone's first claim to fame was her membership in the Sequence, an all-female trio that recorded for pioneering hip-hop label Sugar Hill, beginning with the 1979 single "Funk You Up. |
 | | Atlanta R&B vocalist Monica debuted in 1995 with the platinum Top Ten singles "Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)" and "Before You Walk Out of My Life. |
 | | After a false start with the late-'80s vocal group Maniquin, Kenny Lattimore became a minor R&B star in his own right in 1996 when his eponymous debut album generated two hit singles. |
 | | In spite of the fact that Faith Evans carved out a lengthy recording career in her own right, her name will forever remain linked in the minds of many to her late husband, the Notorious B. |
 | | Eric Benét is a contemporary R&B singer with mild hip-hop and strong adult contemporary influences. As a teenager, he performed in a family vocal group (appropriately named Benét) with his sister and cousin. |
 | | Mya is a dancer turned smooth urban R&B vocalist who released her eponymous debut in the spring of 1998, when she was just 18 years old. |
 | | Laid-back Washington, D.C.-based R&B vocalist J. Holiday (born Nahum Grymes) signed to Capitol and released the Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins-produced single "Be with Me" in 2006. |
 | | The most visible Winans family member outside the world of gospel, Mario Winans gravitated toward percussion at an early age and eventually learned piano. |
 | | With hitmaker Irv Gotti at the helm, Ashanti blasted into the urban music scene in 2002, topping the charts with multiple singles at once. |
 | | A mature R&B vocalist who excelled most with slower, sensual material ("Slowly, Surely," "I'm Not Afraid," "My Love") and was versatile enough to pack plenty of punch with anthems of pride and self-empowerment ("Golden," "Family Reunion," "Hate on Me"), Jill Scott grew up in north Philadelphia and began her performing career reading her own poetry. |
 | | Able to rap, sing, and write songs that had everyone from John Legend to Roots Manuva singing her praises, Estelle Swaray got her start in London's renowned hip-hop record store Deal Real. |
 | | Discovered by Michael Bivins of New Edition, 702 is a teenage trio -- Irish, Kameelah, and Lemisha -- who made their recorded debut singing on Subway's hit single "This Lil' Game We Play. |
 | | Given a high-profile spot on the all-star compilation Roll Wit tha Flava as their first recording opportunity, Zhané lived up to the pressure and came away with one of the hip-hop party anthems of all time, "Hey, Mr. |
 | | After joining Immature/IMx as a young adolescent in the early '90s, vocalist Marques "Batman" Houston crossed over into television as a recurring cast member of Sister Sister and took on production duties with some of his IMx mates (as Platinum Status) for B2K and Destiny's Child. |
 | | Neo-soul singer and pianist John Legend combined the raw fervor of contemporaries Cody ChesnuTT and the burning precision of D'Angelo. |
 | | Tamar Braxton's entry into the music industry came through her five-member sibling group, the Braxtons, which featured older sisters Traci, Trina, Towanda and, most notably, Toni. |
 | | Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart are the funky divas behind the neo-soul duo Floetry. Ambrosius and Stewart emerged in the mid-'90s as songwriters in demand. |
 | | Singer/songwriter Robin Thicke was one of the few to define the new millennium's blue-eyed soul movement. |
 | | Changing Faces is a New York-based urban soul vocal duo much in the vein of similar all-female bands like TLC and SWV. |
 | | Not that he'd wish it on anyone, but it was during his ten-year sentence in prison that Lyfe Jennings developed his honest sound, thanks to isolation and Erykah Badu. |
 | | Pleasure P is a contemporary R&B singer who experienced success as a member of the group Pretty Ricky before embarking on a solo career in 2007. |
 | | Born Bobby Wilson in Mississippi but raised in Atlanta, smooth R&B crooner Bobby V -- known as Bobby Valentino until a lawsuit from a British performer of the same name -- had a hard time convincing his skeptical parents that the music business was the place for him. |
 | | A soul singer who drew comparisons to such classic vocalists as Bill Withers and Bobby Womack, Anthony Hamilton struggled for the better part of the 1990s as two of his albums went unreleased. |
 | | A gifted R&B singer whose cool but passionate style is a solid match for his flexible vocal abilities, Carl Thomas was born in Aurora, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago) on June 15, 1972. |
 | | As lead singer for the Gap Band, Charlie Wilson sang on four number one R&B hits: "Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)," "Early in the Morning," "Outstanding," and "Addicted to Your Love" -- as well as the classics "You Dropped a Bomb on Me," "Yearning for Your Love," "Party Train," and "Big Fun. |
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 | | When her debut album, What's the 411?, hit the street in 1992, critics and fans alike were floored by its powerful combination of modern R&B with an edgy rap sound that glanced off of the pain and grit of Mary J. |
 | | A multi-talented artist, Jaheim is most famous for his R&B vocals, although he has also rapped, modeled, and acted, and appeared in Source and other hip-hop publications. |
 | | She grew up listening to '70s soul and '80s hip-hop, but Erykah Badu drew more comparisons to Billie Holiday upon her breakout in 1997, after the release of her first album, Baduizm. |
 | | A star in the R&B world before she was even out of her teens, Aaliyah's promising career was tragically cut short by her death in a plane crash at age 22. |
